Quote:
Originally Posted by Froggy57
Tell me this... when you were diagnosed with a mental health disorder, did your primary care physician run a series of medical tests on you first to rule out any other physical issues that could be causing some of your symptoms, including nutritional deficiencies? That is one of the major differences you will find between functional medicine and traditional medicine.
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When I was diagnosed with severe Major Depressive Disorder I (at the suggestion of my psychiatrist) spent about a month IP. The first week of that entailed a very detailed clinical examination, including investigation of my nutritional status. Nothing of clinical interest emerged from that examination.
That is just evidence-based medicine in action. With respect, I think that you are making a false dichotomy between "functional medicine" and "traditional medicine" - there is just evidence-based medicine.
Making a more general point, eating in a healthy way (minimal junk food, lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, whole-grain products, animal protein in moderation, etc) is good for both physical and mental health.
Dietitians are evidence-based health professionals who can offer their clients advice about healthy eating. That might (if indicated) include taking nutritional supplements.
The contrast is with self-medication (buying nutritional supplements from Web sites like Dr Hyman's among many others). I don't think that self-medication is a good idea.